availablepublic4009http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/driving-miss-daisy/4009/2365506267cove4009Driving Miss Daisy - PreviewAlfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, starring Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones.Alfred Uhry’s classic play is a searing, funny, and hopeful meditation on race relations in America, told through the complex relationship between two of popular culture’s most enduring characters. Daisy Werthan (Angela Lansbury) is a widowed, 72-year-old Jewish woman living in midcentury Atlanta, and Hoke Colburn (James Earl Jones) is an African American man who works as her chauffeur.2015-07-17 21:00publishdisabledshowfalse9354"Do you believe him?"Sister James and Sister Aloysius discuss Father Flynn's behavior.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/doubt-from-minnesota-opera-do-you-believe-him/9354/2019-01-25 21:00http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/files/2019/01/1299-Zabala-Brewer-480x270.jpg3020232368cove9007An American In Paris The MusicalRelive the famous musical in this Tony-winning adaptation.http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/an-american-in-paris-the-musical-full-episode/9007/2018-11-02 21:00http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/files/2018/10/AAIP-FullEpisode-MM-480x270.jpg3017955552cove

Directed for the stage byDavid Esbjornson, Driving Miss Daisyairs on Great Performances Friday, July 17 at 9 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.)

The production was recorded in Australia at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne.

Uhry’s classic play is a timeless, searing, funny, and ultimately hopeful meditation on race relations in America, told through the complex relationship between two of popular culture’s most enduring characters. When Daisy Werthan, a widowed, 72-year-old Jewish woman living in midcentury Atlanta, is deemed too old to drive, her son hires Hoke Colburn, an African American man, to serve as her chauffeur. What begins as a troubled and hostile pairing, soon blossoms into a profound, life-altering friendship that transcends all the societal boundaries placed between them.

Their iconic tale of pride, changing times and the transformative power of friendship has warmed the hearts of millions worldwide.

From its landmark Off-Broadway production in 1987 to the remarkable success of the Oscar-winning film version with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman (four Academy Awards, including Best Picture), Driving Miss Daisy has become one of the most beloved American stories of the late twentieth century.

Reviews

When this revival opened on Broadway (with Vanessa Redgrave as Daisy Werthan), Bloomberg News declared, “The enchanting revival…is the best theater can be.” And The Wall Street Journal called it “A perfect night on Broadway. Do whatever you have to do to get a ticket!”

Angela Lansbury

Lansbury has won Tony Awards for her roles in “Blithe Spirit,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Gypsy,” “Dear World” and “Mame” and received nominations for “A Little Night Music” and “Deuce.” Other Broadway credits include “Hotel Paradiso,” “The King and I” and “A Taste of Honey,” and she is well known to TV audiences as the star of long-running series “Murder, She Wrote.” Her numerous films include “Gaslight,” “Till the Clouds Roll By,” “Blue Hawaii,” “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Death on the Nile,” and “The Mirror Crack’d.”

James Earl Jones

Multi-award winning Jones has won Tony Awards® for the Broadway productions of “The Great White Hope” and “Fences” and a Tony Award® nomination for the revival of “On Golden Pond.” His film credits include “The Great White Hope” (Oscar® nomination), “Dr. Strangelove,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “A Clear and Present Danger” and “Field of Dreams.” On television his credits include “Gabriel’s Fire” and “Heat Wave,” receiving Emmy Awards for both. He is well known for his voiceover work including Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” films and the voice of Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King.”

Alfred Uhry and Creative Team

Uhryis distinguished as the only American playwright to have won a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. His first play, “Driving Miss Daisy,” opened Off Broadway in 1987 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. Other works include: “The Light Night of Ballyhoo” (Tony Award), “Parade” (Tony Award), “Without Walls”(starring Laurence Fishburne), “Edgardo Mine” (at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis), and the book for the Broadway musical “LoveMusik”(Drama Desk nomination).

Driving Miss Daisy was directed for the screen by Peter Ots. The production was filmed by Broadway Near You, a company founded by Ed Greenberg and Lee deBoer, in association with Umbrella Entertainment. The play was produced for the Australian stage by John Frost by special arrangement with Jed Bernstein and Adam Zotovich.

For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.

Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, and is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, The Starr Foundation, The Agnes Varis Trust, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and PBS.

About WNET

As New York’s flagship public media provider and the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore App where users can stream PBS content for free.